Updated:
Taavet+Sten
Taavet Hinrikus and Sten Tamkivi deploy operator capital from Wise and Skype into early-stage European tech, writing first-checks in fintech, climate and...
Taavet+Sten
Taavet+Sten launched in 2021 as the personal investment vehicle of Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of Wise, and Sten Tamkivi, a former Skype executive and co-founder of Teleport. The firm formalizes a decade of co-investing between the two, whose combined operator experience spans payments infrastructure, digital identity, and global workforce mobility. Hinrikus's stake in Wise, which went public in 2021 via a landmark direct listing on the London Stock Exchange, represents the primary disclosed wealth origin. Tamkivi's tenure at Skype and his startup exit history add a second layer of operator-informed capital to the partnership. The firm concentrates on early-stage European technology companies, typically writing first checks between €250,000 and €1.5 million at the pre-seed and seed stages. Its mandate spans enterprise software, fintech, climate technology, and applied artificial intelligence — sectors where the founders' operating backgrounds provide direct diligence capability. Confirmed portfolio positions include Veriff, the Tallinn-based identity verification platform; Xolo, an Estonian fintech offering business banking and admin services for solopreneurs; and Zego, a UK-based insurtech providing flexible coverage to gig-economy workers. The firm co-invests alongside institutional funds including Index Ventures, Accel, and Atomico, serving as a signal-rich local partner for pan-European and US firms entering the Nordic-Baltic region. Taavet+Sten operates from Tallinn with a lean team model that reflects the principals' preference for principal-led diligence over institutional headcount. In September 2023, the firm participated in Alphabet-backed Orbital Materials' $16 million Series A, a London and Princeton-based climate-tech startup applying AI to materials discovery. The firm's footprint extends beyond the Nordics, with portfolio companies registered in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands. While no dedicated philanthropic foundation is linked to the entity, Hinrikus has separately established the Jõhvi Coding School in Estonia, signaling a parallel commitment to tech talent development. The firm does not disclose total assets under management or aggregate deployment figures. The partnership's structural differentiator is not its check size but its origin story: both principals are active founders who invest alongside peers they operate within their own product domains. This creates a sourcing engine fueled by the European tech diaspora — a network of former Wise, Skype, and Bolt alumni who frequently route deal flow through the firm before it reaches broader institutional visibility. The partnership's succession architecture remains undeclared, but the committed, non-institutional capital base means Taavet+Sten can move at the speed of a two-person decision, unencumbered by LP advisory boards or formal investment committees.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
2021
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Estonia
City
Tallinn
Corporate office
Tallinn, Estonia
Principals
Taavet Hinrikus
Co-founder
Sten Tamkivi
Co-founder
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Taavet+Sten?
Taavet Hinrikus and Sten Tamkivi jointly make all investment decisions. The firm operates without an extended investment committee or junior partners, meaning every position reflects the direct conviction of the two named co-founders. Both bring operator experience: Hinrikus as co-founder of Wise, Tamkivi as a former Skype executive and co-founder of Teleport.
How does Taavet+Sten source proprietary deal flow?
The firm leans on the founders' networks inside the European tech diaspora, particularly the alumni ecosystems of Wise, Skype, and other Estonian-bred unicorns. Hinrikus and Tamkivi also co-invest frequently with funds like Index Ventures and Atomico, which makes the partnership a first-call local allocator when US or pan-European funds seek a Nordic-Baltic anchor partner for early rounds.
Is Taavet+Sten structured as a family office or a venture firm?
It operates as a hybrid — a personal investment vehicle that writes checks with the speed and structure of an angel syndicate but commits capital at the conviction level of a single-family office. The firm does not solicit external limited partners, nor does it carry the fund-lifecycle constraints of a traditional venture fund.
What investment stages does the firm target?
Taavet+Sten concentrates on pre-seed and seed-stage rounds, typically deploying initial checks between €250,000 and €1.5 million. The firm reserves capital for follow-on investments in subsequent rounds when a portfolio company demonstrates clear product-market fit, but it does not operate a structured follow-on fund.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
The primary disclosed wealth origin is Taavet Hinrikus's equity stake in Wise, the cross-border payments company he co-founded in 2011 and which completed a direct listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2021. Sten Tamkivi's capital derives from his tenure at Skype and the 2017 acquisition of his startup Teleport by Topia.
Does Taavet+Sten co-invest alongside external GPs?
Yes. The firm actively co-invests alongside institutional venture funds including Index Ventures, Accel, and Atomico, frequently sharing cap tables with these managers. Taavet+Sten does not lead rounds as a sole institutional investor but often serves as a structured co-lead during a round's formation, particularly for companies emerging from Estonia and Finland.
Which sectors does Taavet+Sten explicitly avoid?
The firm has publicly avoided consumer social media, ad-tech, and speculative crypto infrastructure projects, preferring enterprise-facing software, regulated fintech, and hard-science climate plays where the founders' operator experience provides a genuine due-diligence edge. Bio-pharma and medical devices are also absent from the disclosed portfolio.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on family offices?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: